July 15, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; July 15, 2014 - Penn State women's gymnastics head coach Jeff Thompson has announced the addition of Kera (Bolen) Molinaro the Nittany Lions' coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach.
Molinaro enters her 10th season involved with collegiate gymnastics, which includes two years as the volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater, Oregon State, and three seasons on the coaching staff at Rutgers. She competed for the Beavers from 2006-09 and helped them to four consecutive appearances at the NCAA Championships.
"We could not be happier to welcome Kera to the Penn State family," said head coach Jeff Thompson. "Kera brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program that can only help our student-athletes. As a former NCAA Division I gymnast and coach she brings a unique point of view that will aid our program as we continue moving forward toward our goal of winning a Big Ten Championship."
A native of Lake Oswego, Ore., Molinaro ventured to the east coast and spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Rutgers. She had an immediate impact on the Scarlet Knights' program, helping them earn a berth at the 2014 NCAA Regional Championships. The NCAA Regional appearance was the programs' first since 2007.
From 2012-14, the Scarlet Knights set eight of the top 10 team scores in school history and three of the top five floor exercise scores in program history. Rutgers produce a school record on the floor exercise during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, including the current mark of 49.325 set on March 8, 2014. The team also set a new school record team score of 196.225 in the same meet with Central Michigan, Towson, Southern Connecticut and Yale.
Her floor exercise pupils earned five All-East Atlantic Gymnastics League honors in three seasons. She tutored Alexis Gunzelman to first team All-EAGL honors in 2014 and second team honors in 2012, Danielle D'Elia to a pair of second team All-EAGL honors (2012 & 2013) and Jenna Zito to second team honors in 2013. The three second team performers in 2013 were the most All-EAGL performers in one season on a single event in school history.
During 2014, the Scarlet Knights achieved its best score (195.275) and finish (tied for third) in the program's history at the EAGL Championships. It was the final season for Rutgers in the EAGL, as they officially joined the Big Ten on July 1, 2014.
In her time on the Oregon State coaching staff, she helped oversee the Beavers strength and conditioning program and assisted with instruction on all four events, with an emphasis on the balance beam. From 2010-11, the program saw seven gymnasts earn All-American honors on 12 occasions. Laura-Ann Chong and Leslie Mak each earned All-American honors on the balance beam, with Mak claiming the 2011 balance beam title at the NCAA Regional.
As a team, Oregon State advanced the NCAA Championships in both 2010 and 2011. They logged back-to-back eight place finishes at the NCAA summit to earn the programs first top-10 finishes in 13 years.
A standout on the floor exercise during her time as a student-athlete in Corvallis, Molinaro helped the Beavers to the NCAA Championships during each of her four seasons on campus. She was a part of the 2008 NCAA West Regional Championship squad, marking the programs first regional championship since 1992.
She began her collegiate gymnastics career as a walk-on and earned a scholarship following her freshman season. A fan favorite throughout her career in Corvallis, she made touches on every event during her career, but mainly competed on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection and earned NACGC Scholastic All-American honors once in her career.
The former Kera Bolen, she married Frank Molinaro, a Penn State All-American wrestler from 2007-12, in May 2014. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science, with a minor in Psychology, in 2009 from Oregon State.
Follow Penn State women's gymnastics on Facebook by clicking here or on Twitter by clicking here. Stay up to date with any of our 31 varsity programs on all of your favorite social media platforms by clicking here.